AFPÂ’s New Humanist Thinking Magazine

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Is life after death possible? Will God judge us and our
lives and put us in heaven or hell? Or, will we be reincarnated? How can one
know whatÂ’s real on the other side?

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â We are in a
room with no windows and only one one-way door. We canÂ’t see outside the room,
and the people who go out the door never return.

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Many
thinkers have offered theories about whatÂ’s outside the door. Some speculate
that outside the room is non-existence. In other words, this life is as good as
it gets. I believe this theory.

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Others
offer more determinate theories such as the Christians. They say an all-powerful,
all-knowing, loving God is outside (and inside) the door. He created the world
and His actions are documented in the Bible.

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â The only
way to confirm or refute these theories is by additional empirical evidence. In
other words, the only way to know which theory is correct is to go out the
door.

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Some will
object to this method, and we can consider their possible objections.

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Objection
#1: Â“I want to know whether God exists from inside the room. I want to know now
if what the Bible says is true so that I could worship God in order to go to
heaven.Â”

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Reply: We
all want things we canÂ’t have. If the cost of knowledge is too high, we can
decide not to know Â– we can choose ignorance. Each person, in his or her time,
will go out the door and find out for him or herself.

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â As to the
question of worshipping God, I cannot in good conscience advise
it. According to the Bible, God created the Great Flood in the time of Noah,
murdering innocent babies. Therefore, if God exists, I would not worship him.

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Objection
#2: Â“We should believe in God, not by reason or evidence, but through a leap of
faith.Â”

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Reply:
People who seriously believe in God can go to the edge of the roof of the
Physical Sciences Building and take a leap of faith, asking God to forgive them
on the way down. If God exists, He would send them directly to heaven. (Note:
Some Catholics believe that suicide invariably leads to hell.)

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Reply: The
way to test that claim is to go out the door. If we exist after bodily death
and can acquire knowledge, then we can know what is outside the door. But, if
we do not exist after bodily death, or if we do not have any senses, then we
cannot know.

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Some
theories can be tested in only one direction. Some can be known only if they
are true, some can be known only if they are false. Consider the question of
whether we would survive after the rulers start a nuclear war using all their
bombs. This question can be empirically known only if it is true.

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â“According
to OccamÂ’s Razor, we should not multiply entities
beyond necessity. Hence we do not have to go out the door to reject God.Â”

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Reply:
Contrast OccamÂ’s Razor with what I will call BoctorÂ’s
Shovel, according to which, we should multiply entities beyond necessity as
much as possible. Regardless of their merits, both of these principles are not
criteria of truth. And we want to know what is true, not what is simpler or
what makes fewer ontological claims.

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Reply: I
agree with the argument that combining these concepts is illogical. However, if
we found an all-powerful, all-knowing being that logic denies Â– to be
consistent, we would have to revise the laws of logic.

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â After all,
we use the laws of logic because they work Â– in other words, because they are
consistent with the empirical evidence.

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Objection
#6: Â“We can know what is behind the door from reports of people with near-death
experiences Â– those who were, so to speak, half out the door. Some of them say
they were in a corridor, at the end of which was a pleasant peaceful bright
light who is God.Â”

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Reply: One
answer is that these people were never out of the door; hence, they have no
empirical evidence of what is behind the door. Another answer is that these
secondhand reports cannot possibly provide us firsthand knowledge. As Heraclitus said, Â“The eyes are surer witnesses than the
ears.Â”